In my town, the schools host a “Boo-hoo Breakfast” for the moms (parents is more pc, but it’s the moms that show) dropping off Kindergarteners. Is this you?
It was difficult to send off my dark haired daughter with her sweet dress and large monogrammed hair-bows (alas, the look did not last throughout elementary school), but it was no easier with my energetic son in his truck shirts and fast sneakers.
I chose to stay at home the years before my children entered school and it wasn’t until my son’s departure into that big brick building that I felt comfortable considering a return to my speech roots.
It’s a little dauting to contemplate re-entering a career field after a baby sabbatical and there weren’t a lot of helpful resources that I knew of off-hand. So how can you get your mojo back? I’m listing some resources below that I like and that provide very practical ideas (*this is geared primarily toward the school or pediatric SLP). You’ll surprise yourself—it’ll come back quicker than you expect.
(Continuing) Education:
www.ASHA.org offers ceus on a variety of topics. Generally you read a journal article and take an online test. Fees are per course.
www.SpeechPathology.com: A yearly membership fee of $99 allows you to take as many courses as you want on a wide variety of topics. Usually the seminar is a Powerpoint presentation with audio and you take a 10 question, multiple choice evaluation at the conclusion.
Therapy Tips and Tricks:
www.activitytailor.com: You’re already here! You’ll find easy to implement ideas for articulation and language therapy, course reviews and other speech related posts.
www.articbrain.com: Entertaining therapy ideas for both articulation and language therapy with minimal equipment.
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/: Lots of tricks and tips including specific suggestions for working with individual phonemes.
Resources:
www.home-speech-home.com: Great resource for developmental guidelines and handouts.
www.twitter.com: The #SLPeeps community will happily answer questions or steer you towards more resources.
Apps and Technology:
www.SpeechTechie.com: This site will walk you through all new technology issues and includes a list of current SLP apps.
www.TherapyApp411.com: Provides SLP reviews of speech and language apps.
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